Catholic university bans 'Unborn Lives Matter' posters

Students at a major Catholic university in Chicago had to take their anti-abortion posters back to the drawing board after the school declared them racially provocative.

The College Republicans group at DePaul University wanted to post the phrase "Unborn Lives Matter" around campus. But the university declined to approve the posters because they might provoke the Black Lives Matter movement.

The school's president pointed to campus speech guidelines, which allow provocative speech but ban "speech whose primary purpose is to wound."

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The 18 private colleges where students go on to earn the most money

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The 18 private colleges where students go on to earn the most money

18. Wabash College

Early career median pay: $59,000

Mid-career median pay: $121,000

Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 55%

Undergraduate enrollment: 926

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16. (tie) Williams College

Early career median pay: $54,900

Mid-career median pay: $122,000

Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 56%

Undergraduate enrollment: 2,072

(Barry Winiker via Getty Images)

16. (tie) Santa Clara University

Early career median pay: $62,500

Mid-career median pay: $122,000

Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 49%

Undergraduate enrollment: 5,486

(Mariusz Jurgielewicz via Getty Images)

15. Georgetown University

Early career median pay: $58,300

Mid-career median pay: $123,000

Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 53%

Undergraduate enrollment: 7,595

(John Woodworth / robertharding via Getty Images)

13. (tie) Clarkson University

Early career median pay: $63,500

Mid-career median pay: $124,000

Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 55%

Undergraduate enrollment: 3,247

(Wikipedia Commons)

13. (tie) Dartmouth College

Early career median pay: $62,600

Mid-career median pay: $124,000

Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 57%

Undergraduate enrollment: 4,289

(Jerry Moorman via Getty Images)

11. (tie) Duke University

Early career median pay: $63,000

Mid-career median pay: $125,000

Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 60%

Undergraduate enrollment: 6,626

(Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)

11. (tie) California Institute of Technology

Early career median pay: $78,400

Mid-career median pay: $125,000

Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 59%

Undergraduate enrollment: 983

(Danita Delimont via Getty Images)

10. Carnegie Mellon University

Early career median pay: $71,700

Mid-career median pay: $126,000

Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 51%

Undergraduate enrollment: 5,888

(tupungato via Getty Images)

9. Yale University

Early career median pay: $62,500

Mid-career median pay: $129,000

Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 66%

Undergraduate enrollment: 5,477

(uschools via Getty Images)

7. (tie) University of Pennsylvania

Early career median pay: $65,300

Mid-career median pay: $130,000

Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 56%

Undergraduate enrollment: 11,548

(f11photo via Getty Images)

7. (tie) Babson College

Early career median pay: $60,100

Mid-career median pay: $130,000

Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 36%

Undergraduate enrollment: 2,107

(Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

6. Harvey Mudd College

Early career median pay: $77,700

Mid-career median pay: $132,000

Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 68%

Undergraduate enrollment: 804

(Photo by Ted Soqui/Corbis via Getty Images)

5. Stanford University

Early career median pay: $75,800

Mid-career median pay: $134,000

Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 65%

Undergraduate enrollment: 7,019

Michael Layefsky via Getty Images

4. Princeton University

Early career median pay: $67,300

Mid-career median pay: $135,000

Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 60%

Undergraduate enrollment: 5,391

Andriy Prokopenko via Getty Images

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Early career median pay: $81,100

Mid-career median pay: $140,000

Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place:62%

Undergraduate enrollment: 4, 512

REUTERS/Brian Snyder

1. Harvard University

Early career median pay: $66,600

Mid-career median pay: $141,000

Alumni who believe their work makes the world a better place: 64%

Undergraduate enrollment: 10,338

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President Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider went on to say, "As we experienced last spring, it's not difficult to agree that there is a difference between a thoughtful discussion about immigration and a profane remark about Mexicans scrawled in the Quad, or between a panel on racial climate and a noose — a powerful symbol of violence and hatred — outside a residence hall. In both recent cases, the first, we encourage; the second, we abhor."

As a private university, DePaul is allowed to set limits on campus. But the rejection of anti-abortion rhetoric on a Catholic campus has a lot of critics crying censorship.

One Washington Post writer notes, "If one wants to see an illustration of the slippery slope from what are always billed as narrow, modest restrictions on just the worst sorts of speech to much broader restrictions aimed at suppressing certain viewpoints ... this is a perfect example."

DePaul University has been accused of stifling conservative voices in the past. The school canceled an appearance by political commentator Ben Shapiro several months ago, apparently over security concerns.